Lost Within the Shadows
by DarkenLightningBugs
Summary: A new student comes to school, and ends up getting caught up in Raven Cullen. Having no idea who the Cullens are, Danni gets into lots of mystery.
1. Chapter 1 First Day

A Twilight Fanfiction: Lost Within the Shadows

**I have read the entire Twilight trilogy before, and I am reading it through again because school is almost out and I have nothing to do at home, because the teachers are being nice and haven't assigned much homework. So I hope you enjoy, and please review! I love hearing what people have to say about my work! Also, please note that this story has some OC in it. Thank you for reading! ~Lexy**

Chapter One ~ First Day

I clutched my books in my arms, nervous I'd drop them. I'm new to Forks, and am very nervous that people here won't like me. I come from California, and so I don't look like I belong. My hair is long; nearly toward my waist now, and blonde. My eyes are an interesting blend of grey and emerald green. I have tan skin, and am a flexible girl; explaining my natural skill at cheerleading.

Moving to Forks was all my mother's idea. She's going through one of her 'stages.' Her stages are becoming more and more annoying. First, she forced us to go vegetarian for a month. Now, we're moving to Forks. What next, making us see a councilor several times a week to 'unleash our emotions?' Yes, it has been stated before.

Good news is that there's only me, my four month old sister, my mother, and my father. Me myself, well I'm a freshman. 15 years old, to be exact. Not to mention its one month into the school year. I haven't ever moved schools before, so this makes me nervous.

I suddenly worried about my hair. My hair was naturally straight, but I straightened it with my flat iron that my mother got for me as part of a persuasion gift when she told us we were moving. Of course, to little Melanie, moving meant nothing. She got gifts anyways, however.

I checked my schedule again. I had homeroom with Ms. Writhe first, in room 45A, in building 1.

Having classes in separate buildings was new to me as well. This high school was small, but even in California where the amount of people in the eighth grade class was immense. Already I could tell that this year would drag on.

I looked down at my outfit as I entered the classroom, my heart doing backflips and somersaults in my chest. I had selected a crisp, white button up that I had ironed the night before. I matched it with black suspenders with a black skirt that barely cut dress code. On my feet were my favorite white sandals.

I had a slip in my hand that I had to have all of my teachers sign because I was new and the year had already started. Ms. Writhe was also my English teacher, so I would stay in this classroom after homeroom passed. I'd only require one signature from her, in that case.

I walked up to her, and she smiled at me. "Welcome to Forks High School, dear. Nice to see you've found the class alright," she smiled. She was on the older side, so I knew that her class would probably be my all-time favorite.

"Hello," I said, smiling. I handed her the slip. "I think you're supposed to sign this. I'm in here for English, too."

"Indeed," she took the slip, signed her name, and handed it back to me. "You can take the seat in the second row, the one next to the black haired girl. That's Raven," Ms. Writhe said.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, trying to be as cheerful as I could. It was difficult, however, because I noticed that it was foggy and raining outside.

I sat down next to the Raven girl, and smoothed my hair down. The girl looked very relaxed, and quite honestly I wasn't too worried about impressing her. Her hair was short in the back and long in the front, with blue streaks and tips in the front also. Her eyes were dark, and her skin ultimately pale. Dark circles were under her eyes. She scowled at me.

"Hi, I'm Danni," I said, smiling. Introducing myself to people is my weakness. I blushed.

Raven looked at me, glared, and scowled again. "You know my name," she said, in a 'leave me alone' tone.

The bell rang, and Ms. Writhe started homeroom off by taking attendance.

After a few names, she called out Raven's. "Raven Cullen?"

"Here," Raven abruptly said.

Immediately after, she said mine. "Danni Colliers?"

"Present!" I called out, beaming.

I heard Raven huff from next to me. I decided that tomorrow I'd make my voice as scarce as possible. Raven really did scare me.

After attendance, Ms. Writhe said the mandatory announcements. "As you all know, cheerleading tryouts are right around the corner. Packets are available in the office. There's room for two freshman, three sophomores, one junior, and four seniors this year. Anybody may tryout. Also, volleyball is NOT, and I repeat NOT to be used as a weapon sport during gym class, guys." Ms. Writhe cleared her voice. "I believe that is all."

Several students turned to their friends and chattered about cheerleading tryouts. This school hadn't come off as a school that centered on cheerleading, but hearing that lots of girls were excited boosted my self-esteem. There were only two freshman spots on the squad, but I was flexible and loud. I was also from California, where my middle school had centered on cheerleading pretty much all of its time being a Californian middle school.

I started to take in my surroundings. The English classroom reminded me as a sort of prison, almost. No chain-link fences or anything, but the walls were cinderblock except the bulletin boards, and were bare. On the bulletin boards themselves, many posters having to do with books and other English-type things covered them. They had grey borders.

Ms. Writhe's desk was filled with personal pictures of what I assumed were her kids, grandkids, and husband. Or they might just be random pictures from Google. I don't know. You never know who is like that.

Of course she could just be normal and I'm letting the rain get to me.

Guess we'll find out, then.


	2. Chapter 2 Lunch

Lost Within the Shadows

**Chapter Two**

By the time lunch rolled around, I was carrying three textbooks as well as my binder and notebook. I made a mental note to carry around my tote bag tomorrow so my back won't give away. I swear, by the end of the year I had better be stronger muscle-wise.

I had no idea where to sit. I saw Raven with two other girls who had long black hair and hazel eyes, with the same pale skin and dark circles under their eyes. They all looked like triplets, except Raven's hair was cut differently. They sat in a table.

"Hi, you Danni, right?" a girl asked me. She had brown hair that went down to her belly button, brown eyes, and a fair, even complexion.

"Correct," I said. I couldn't remember where I had seen this girl's face before.

"I'm in your Spanish class," she beamed. "I'm Mallory, ok?"

"Nice to meet you," I said, smiling.

"Want to sit with me? I sit with Lauren, Katie, Vincent, and Lucas," she gestured toward a table near the middle, which also looked like it was at the center of attention.

"Sure," I said, eagerly. I needed a place to sit, and Mallory was offering. It was like I was being sent an apology from fate.

I followed Mallory, hoping I didn't seem like too much of a pathetic little dog, following people around. That would make me very uncomfortable.

Mallory introduced me to everybody. Lauren had long, thick, curly red hair and green eyes, Katie had a light blonde bob, Vincent had short, gelled brown hair, and Lucas had short brown hair. They all looked perfect, and like they belonged together. I mean, it is September, and they've probably been hanging out since school started last month, in August. It made me feel slightly left out, but each of them warmly welcomed me.

I got into line with Mallory and Katie, and it turned out that they were both trying out for cheerleading. I figured that a lot of freshman would tryout, because I know in California nearly half the girls in each grade level had tried out one time or another in their life. Some gave up after not making the squad. Each year since sixth grade when cheerleaders were needed, I made the squad. It made me feel special, for lack of a better word.

We were behind Raven and her friends in line. Raven was talking about her mom, which the other two called 'Bella.' According to their conversations, Bella was married to Edward and they were both young, and they had adopted Raven.

It was amazing what you could find out from a single eavesdropped conversation. It made me feel bad. I would've preferred to find out that information by being friends with Raven, but I knew I didn't fit in with her at all.

I grabbed lemonade and a sandwich, as well as an apple. I was trying not to make it seem like I'm trying too hard and even lunch counts when you're considering the girls who try too hard. Forks High was a whole new experience to me, and I was trying to soak up as much as I could. Sophomore year and so forth would be so much easier if I can soak up knowledge of Forks this year.

Also, considering this is my first year in high school, I really need the experience.

I paid for my lunch, and waited for Mallory to get out of line. She emerged with a diet coke and a cheeseburger, which surprised me. It had seemed in California, everybody ate well, and all the cheerleader-type girls ate near vegetarian meals. Oh well, I guess since its Washington state instead of sunny Cali, it's different. I'm not sure; I just know this is different.

I sat back down with Mallory, and the others got up to get in line.

"They're not being rude," Mallory filled in. "This is just our system. Some of us get lunch while the others make sure nobody else decides to get bold and take our table. Then when the first group gets their lunch and sits down, the second group gets up. We've been doing that since seventh grade, in Forks Middle."

Once the others got back, the conversation really started flowing.

"We should all go up to La Push this weekend. It's supposed to be sunny, and my older sister can take us. She's going with her senior friends Friday night, only they're staying for a week. They'll just be ditching school," Katie said.

"Sounds fun," Vincent replied.

Everybody else agreed. When there was a sunny weekend, it seemed like everyone was leaving.

"I can set it up so my brother can pick us up, since we can't get away with ditching for a week. A day, probably, but a full five days, probably not," Lauren said.

"I don't think the teachers could handle the loss," Lucas said, snickering.

Raven and her friends passed out table, and I couldn't help but notice how graceful their movements were.

"Who are they?" I asked Mallory.

"My older sister, Jessica, warned me about the Cullens'. Apparently, when she was still attending Forks, there were a group of kids who were all effortlessly beautiful and kept to themselves. There was Emmett Cullen, Jasper Cullen, Edward Cullen, Alice Cullen, and Rosalie Cullen. They were all together, except Edward. Well Edward started 'dating' Isabella Swan, better known as Bella Swan. You know, Chief Swan's daughter. This was all several years ago. Bella had a daughter, and then adopted another. Nobody has seen her biological daughter, and the adopted daughter is Raven Cullen. Raven's friends are Bailey and Victoria, and nobody really knows who they are except that they're twins. Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and Rosalie kind of disappeared after they all graduated," Mallory said, unwrapping her burger.

"There are a lot of stories about the Cullens'. In fact, they're all adopted. Their adoptive father, Dr. Cullen, is a doctor at the hospital and he looks really young, like he hasn't aged at all. It's eerie," Vincent said.

It took me awhile to get my head wrapped all around this nonsense. So Raven's adopted? I don't know why she's so… laid back like she could care less about things. She is so relaxed all the time. Doesn't her life get slightly hectic at times?

I mean, with two uncles and two aunts who aren't even blood related to you and young parents and grandparents… doesn't life get a tad unusual?

Maybe Raven is just immune to everything that is hectic. I mean, I moved to this town where nobody moves to, a month into the school year, and she didn't even flinch.

I opened up my lemonade and took a long drink. Life could get a little interesting.

**I am sorry that most of my chapters are short; I guess that's just how I write. I promise that next chapter will be a longer one, meaning I'll probably take a while to update. It'll probably be tomorrow morning or late tonight when it gets updated. XD that's what I consider a long time to update. **


	3. Chapter 3 Diner

Lost Within the Shadows

**Chapter Three**

** This will be a longer chapter, I hope! Thank you for reading!**

When I got back home from school, naturally Mom and Dad bombarded me with questions.

"How was it like?" Mom asked.

"Did you meet some nice people?" Dad asked.

Melanie giggled, clapping her hands together.

"Guys, one at a time, please," I muttered. I wondered what Mallory, Katie, Laren, Lucas, and Vincent were doing. They had exchanged phone numbers with me, so they said I'd expect a call sometime.

"It was… school. And yes, I met some people," not all were as nice as the ones I was referring to.

My mind instantly turned to Raven. She was extraordinarily beautiful and graceful, it was inhuman. Inhuman…

The phone rang, and Mom picked it up. Before long, she called me into the kitchen.

"It's for you," she said.

I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Danni? It's Katie!"

"Oh, hi," I said, glad that somebody had called me. Sure, if it were Raven I'd be happier, but you know… There's just something about her that I can't get over.

"What's up?" Katie asked.

"Oh, you know, receiving the _annoying _questions from the parents," I complained.

"I avoided that, my parents aren't home. Hey, wanna come over? We could walk to this neat little diner that's close to my place. You'd have to have your parents drop you off, though."

"That sounds fun, let me check," I said. I put the receiver on the counter and walked into the family room where Mom and Dad were with Melanie.

"Hey, Katie invited me to come to her place, so we can walk to this diner that's by her house. You'd have to drop me off at her house, though," I said, using my friendliest tone and my puppy dog eyes. They always worked.

"Sure!" Mom said, sounding very happy about it. "Just find out her address and I can drop you off!"

"All right, thanks," I said, and went back to the kitchen, picking up the receiver.

"My mom can drop me off. What's your address?" I asked.

She told me her address, and we said our goodbyes. I slid my sandals on and my favorite black beanie and I perched it on my head so that it drooped off the back of my head.

I got into Mom's car, on the passenger side, and Mom climbed into the driver's side.

"I can't wait until I can drive, so I don't have to have you chauffer," I said.

"Yeah well you've got a year to go," Mom said.

I switched on the radio, and she drove in silence. I stared out the window, glad it wasn't raining for a change. Thick clouds filled the sky, and it was cooler outside, but it wasn't raining. At least the clouds weren't grey and low.

Mom dropped me off at Katie's house, and I climbed out of the car, smoothing my skirt. I knocked on the door, and Katie answered it.

"Hey!" she said.

I smiled. "Hey."

Katie's blonde bob really accented her face, I realized. Katie pulled out all of her hair products and makeup, and I grinned. She'd do my hair and makeup before we left.

Katie braided my hair into a fishtail braid, and left it over my shoulder. Then she used a bit of liquid eyeliner and grey eye-shadow, as well as a tint of blush. I looked in the mirror and I looked so much older.

Katie redid her own makeup, using a bit of lilac colored eyeliner and mascara. The lilac shade brought out her eyes. There wasn't much that she could do with her short hair.

Then, we headed outside. Katie locked the door behind us, and we walked on the bumpy, crack-filled sidewalk. We talked.

"So, did you see the guy hanging out with Raven this morning?" Katie asked.

"No, I didn't see Raven until I had her in my homeroom and English periods," I said, feeling like I missed something.

"Well he was flawless and just as graceful as her, Victoria, and Bailey. He has that beyond amazing, natural black hair, and dark eyes and pale skin," Katie said. It sounded like she was gushing.

"Wow," I said. It seemed those features were a tradition in the beautiful, flawless, graceful, rich kids.

"I know he's nothing like me, I mean, I'm a cheerleader girl and he's Goth, but I'd _love _to get to know him, you know?"

"I know what you mean," I said. I wanted to get to know Raven Cullen so desperately.

"Maybe we can get to know him together," Katie said, and she winked at me.

I laughed. "Like he'd hang out with two cheerleaders! Those Cullens' act like their better than everyone!"

"Right!" Katie joined in on my laughter, and it was like we were old friends, united from long ago.

When we got to the diner and walked in, what we saw first shocked us both.

Raven, Victoria, Bailey, and the guy I'm sure Katie was talking about were sitting in a booth, in complete isolation from everybody else.

Mallory, Lauren, Vincent, and Lucas were sitting in a table in the middle of the dining area, just like at school. I had realized then that everything from school carried on outside of the cafeteria and classes, in reality.

Mallory waved us over, grinning. "Katie, Danni! Imagine seeing you two here!"

We rushed over, and I realized that the guy with Raven was looking at me. I felt self-conscious and blushed. Guys rarely looked at me like I was something to eat.

I hadn't realized at the time how true my thoughts were.

_Maybe I was something to eat._

I shook the thoughts out of my head, and sat down where Lauren gestured to me.

"Have you guys ordered anything yet?" Katie asked.

"Nah," Mallory said.

A waitress walked over to us. "Can I take your orders?" she asked us.

We all ordered the same thing, a vanilla milkshake, as well as a large platter of fries for us to share.

She smiled at us again, and left back to the kitchen through some doors.

"So, I have more questions about the Cullens'," I quietly said.

"What do you want to know?" Lauren asked.

"Who's the guy?"

"I figured she'd ask that," Katie said, laughing.

"Oh well, that's Jonathon. He really doesn't want to be called John, like most people who are called Jonathon. He's just like the rest of them," Lauren filled in for me.

I glanced over at them, and Jonathon kept looking at me. It was very intimidating. I noticed that they didn't have any food in front of them. Why would you go to a diner and not get anything?

I heard the manager on duty quietly talking to them. He told them if they weren't getting anything that they should leave. That's when two very young adults walked in, barely graduated from high school, I could tell.

They introduced themselves to the manager, calling themselves Bella and Edward Cullen. Edward looked very charming, and he grinned at the manager. The manager apologized to them, and they got up and left. I heard Raven call Bella Mom, and Edward Dad, so I was assuming that Bella and Edward just looked young and weren't really. But then I remembered Raven was adopted, and that anything was possible, to be honest.

"Well then," I muttered, under my breath.

"What? Vincent asked.

I smiled at him. "Nothing," I replied.

Vincent looked like he was falling for me, which was bad. I wasn't interested at all. Vincent was a nice guy and all…

Lucas grinned when the milkshakes with extra whipped cream and the large platter were delivered.

"I'll be back with the check," the waitress said.

I took a long slurp of my milkshake, sucking the thick liquid up the straw. Everybody was so focused on their milkshakes, I nearly choked while chuckling.

"What?" Vincent asked.

"We're so focused, it's humorous."

Vincent laughed along with me.

I grabbed a fry and took a bite of it, and realized it was very hot. I nearly burnt my tongue.

"Careful there," Katie said.

I took a drink of my milkshake, letting it soothe my tongue.

Eventually, we were all done with our milkshakes. Nobody really liked their cherries, except Lauren and me, so we ate them.

I was really beginning to like Forks.

**Ok well that wasn't long at all…. I am so sorry! .-.**


End file.
